Sugar Land police are on the lookout for three robbers who pulled a heist in which a 76-year-old woman was pepper-sprayed and punched in the stomach for her purse.

"We haven't seen another crime like this in the recent past," said Sugar Land city spokesman Doug Adolph. "Two women were pepper-sprayed, a 76-year-old woman was punched and attacked and her purse stolen. All of it taken together is unusual."

The crime happened about 8:45 p.m. outside a Target store in the 16300 block of the Southwest Freeway near Texas 6.

A 44-year-old woman and her mother had just left the store and were at their vehicle with the trunk open when a woman believed to be in her late 20s or early 30s approached them, Adolph said.

The approaching woman, who had shoulder-length black curly hair, pepper-sprayed both women, he said.

"The 44-year-old said she was able to open her eyes and saw that two women were struggling with her mother, trying to take her purse," Adolph said. "At some point, the 76-year-old was punched in the stomach and fell to the ground."

There was no indication of any conversation between the robbers and the shoppers, he said.

The two female robbers got into a nearby car driven by a man and left the scene with the mother's purse, leaving behind the merchandise in the car, according to police.

The victims said the get-away vehicle was a black, four-door passenger car.

All three perpetrators appeared to be in their late 20s or early 30s, Adolph said.

The victims refused transport to the hospital, but chose to drive themselves to a nearby facility for treatment of eye irritation, he said.

Adolph said the crime appeared to be an isolated incident, unrelated to a Nov. 5 attack in which a man beat another man unconscious at a First Colony Mall store restroom and took his phone.

Anyone with information about either crime is asked to call the Sugar Land Police Department at 281-275-2540 or Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS (8477).